E 499 
.B94 
Copy 1 



DEDICATION 



fMm of l^oV. Bud^inghaig, 

Addrksses, Etc. 



OF THE 



in^ 



Mm Coiiiiiiissioii, and to tkt Coiiiissioii 

ON THE 

PROCEEDINGS, 



PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF 1885. 



HARTFORD, CONN.: 

PRESS OP THE CASE, LOCKWOOD & BKAINARD COMPANY. 
1885. 




STATUE OF WILLIAM A. BUCKINGHAM. 



O1.1X L, Warner, Sculptor. 



DEDICATION 



St/TUE of GOYEfOR BuCKipAM 



Addressbs, Etc. 



I^EZ=^OK;TS 



jgislatiye (jOiiimissioii, aiid to llial Uiiiiiuiis 



PROCEEDINGS, 






PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF 1885. 



HARTFORD, CONN.: 

PRESS OF THE CASE, LOCKWOOD & BKAINARD COMPANY. 
1885. 



E 



^Oy. 



615 



OSj 



«^9 



r 



To the General AssemUy ■ ^„d e,gM 

The Joint Select Comn.-ttee " 1 ^,,e,ublj- ,, ,^e 
Jn esentatives, raised by tbe la t Gen ^^^^^^ ^^ ^ 

^r:Ueration all^ue. -^^^^^^^^ 

.n,ov Bucldnsb»>-«1"«> ^^g.^„t ri,e necessary and piope 
, Connnission to canj o eft^^^_^ ^^. .^^ ,,„„„„,„„on-beg 

ceremonies snitaljle to ti 

leave to report: , j„,ies assigned tlieni, i 

'^Tbat in the <«- ""'"^ ^V' tt84, «as designated or th 
1 eiM.teenth day ot Jn"e, A U- - ^,,emonies on t u day 

,Thlic unveiling of the stat e i ^^.^^.^ ^, toUo«» • 

pub ho un ji^„le ot the State ao Worcester, 

';''~ bfB-- D-'^^ "'rTwHl^whieh Governor 
2:s X was pastor of the '^^f^ aecease ; Hon^ 

^''"\ ^nade the address of F^f ";%";;,", His Exeeh 
*^ 'MT;nrt -ived c,n behalf o *>;f J^^^^,, adivered 
nnveiled and "^ ^er winch an «*""", ^^ at the 

i^ncv Governor W allei , a „l„ttbrni constructeQ au 

, i Hon OrviUe H. Platt, tro » a p atl ^;^,„ ^.^s prc- 

IjyHon. <J> Capitol; tlie ■'"=' p.-esident ot 

north entrance to to l^ ^^^^j^,,^ X).D., Pies. 

uounoed by Rev. t^eo.g 

'^"f C"of^"« -"^ "" r7rc:n:;is:ion,the 

.13; also f,e tt::;:t::dVrshal of .he day, 

^vt of Ha or Jolni I., ivimi ^ , Commission. 

: ;": repoJt of ^j'^^^r-Lttel beaded the pro.ss,on 

ot mvitea g ofecevb , tiie e. ,,.,.iod ; the 

ttef ::.e surviving State o^e ■= ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ 



4 

the Supreme and the Superior Courts ; Brig.-Gen. S. R. Smith, 
C. N. G., and staff; military and naval guests; the Mayor ot 
Hartford, with the IVfayors of other cities of the State ; Presi- 
dent Porter of Yale College, Pev. S. G. Buckingham, D.D., 
the brother, and other surviving relatives of Gov. Bucking- 
ham. 

Also in the procession Avere the members of the Gov. 
Buckingham Statue Commission, and of the (-ommis^iun on 
the nnveiling exercises, accompanied by the Sculptor, Olin L. 
Warner. 

Special invitations to the ceremonies were extended to the 
Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States ; to 
the President, the Secretary of War, the members of Con- 
gress from this State, and the members of the last General 
Assembly. 

Buckingham having been the War Governor of the State 
during the entire period of the Rebellion, it was manifestly 
the intent of the General' Assembly to afford the soldiers and 
sailors of the w^ar an opportunity to honor the memory of 
their Commander-in-Chief l)y their presence, and to make 
that presence a distinguishing feature of the occasion. 

Steps were therefore taken to ensure their participation 
in the parade (of whom about 7,500 were in line), and to 
provide refreshment for them in Hartford. The latter was 
most satisfactorily accomplished through an arrangement 
with a Committee, of its citizens, of which Hon. Morgan G. 
Bulkeley, the Mayor of the city, was Chairman. 

Reduced rates of fare were also accorded by tlie railroad 
companies. 

The Quartermaster-General, hy your authority, furnished 
tents for the headquarters of tlie veteran Regimental Associa- 
tions of the State, and such other tents as were required. He 
also furnished the customary salute. 

All other military organizations presenting themselves in 
uniform were invited to participate in the parade without 
expense to the State. Those availing themselves of the 
invitation did so in the (capacity of military escorts to the 
veterans. -* 



i v'c, Foot Gxiards, 

teiidentottne • ^ i by tlie General 

I Anunexpemleabaa, ^^^^ 

' i^to the Treasm-y "* f^^^, submitted. 

Ml of which IS vespecttm J S,„afc C;«n».«. . 

' WM. H. NOBLE. 

"somas « 'vSkeb, 

n^VowfBHOWH. 



ADDRESSES. 



Address of the Chairman of the Commission on the Unveiling 
Ceremonies, Hon. JOHN ALLEN. 

Men and Women of Connecticut: 

You have assembled in testiinuiiy of your regard for the 
illustrious Patriot, Statesman, and Christian, chosen to be 
the supreme executive of the people of this State, and voice 
their will, during a period, in which their " lives, and fortunes, 
and sacred honor" were at stake, in the greatest struggle 
for free government the world has witnessed. In the pres- 
ence of these battle-flags, and the survivors of those who 
bore them to victory, you have come to dedicate a statue, 
erected, in love and gratitude, to the memory of William A. 
Buckingham. 

As he looked to the Source of all strength for guidance, it 
is fitting to this occasion that his pastor for many years, the 
Rev. Dr. Merriman, commence the exercises with prayer. 

It is my privilege to present to you Dr. Merriman. 

Prayer by Rev. DANIEL MERRIMAN, D.D. 

O Lord God of Hosts, who art from everlasting to ever- 
lasting, we are pilgrims and strangers before Thee as all our 
fathers were. Our days upon the earth are as a shadow, and 
there is none abiding; but Thou ai't the same, and Thy years 
fail not, and those that put their trust in Tliee shall never be 
moved. 

O eternal God, as we gather here to per[)etuate the mem- 
ory of Thy servant whom Thou didst raise up and ordain to 
be, by his courage and faith in Thee, the leader of this people 
during the storm of war, we invoke Thy blessing upon us, — 
upon the governor, counselors, magistrates, judges, and all 



tihe people of this ancient commonwealth ; upon this company 
liei'e present ; and especially upon the veteran soldiers and 
sailors of the Republic, and upon their families. 

O onr Father, as we recall their sacrifices, and the deliv- 
erance wrought for us by Thy hand, our hearts are full of deep 
gratitude. Thee we acknowledge as the giver of good men ; 
as the source of all wisdom in the council chamber, all valor 
in battle, all prosperit}^ and peace at the fireside. 

We thank Thee for the good examples of heroic men, and 
for the priceless inheritance of liberty, guarded by law, 
which M'e liave received from their hands. More especiall}- 
do we praise Thy great and Holy Name for the wisdom, devo- 
tion, patriotism, trust in Thee, antl gentle chivalry of the man 
whose memorial we here to-day set up. 

O God of our fathers, who hast promised to be a God unto 
Thy people and to their children after them, and who art the 
Inspirer of all high characters and noble deeds, long after we 
who knew and loved him shall have passed away, and when 
generations yet unborn shall tread these courts and gaze 
upon these scenes, may his face, and the story of his life, 
kindle in them like patriotism and faith in Thee, to the end 
that government of the people, by the people, for the people, 
may not perish from the earth. 

O God, bless our beloved country, and her rulers, and may 
we be that happy people whose God is the Lord. 

And the praise shall be given to God the Father, the Son, 
and Holy Ghost, one Triune Jehovah, forever. Amen. 

Address of Presentation of Hon. HENRY B. HARRISON, of 
the Committee on the Procurement of the Statue. 

Your Excellency: To you, as the governor and official rep- 
resentative of the State, the commissioners, who were directed 
by the General Assembly to procure and cause to be placed 
in the battle-flag vestibule of the Capitol a statue of Governor 
Buckingham, have the honor to announce that they have dis- 
chai'ged the duty which was thus imposed upon them. 

The statue is here. It is covered by the flag of the State 
and the flag of the Nation entwined together. The hour has 



come for you to lift tliein and reveal to us the noble Hgure o|f 
your great predecessor. 

Tliere was an illustrious Gi-reek who declared that he had 
no accomplishments or graces, but that he knew how to make 
a small State great. 

He whom to-day we honor was himself great, because lie, 
too, knew how to make a small State great. If the greatness 
of the State was not made by him, it was by him enhanced 
and exalted. 

He was the chief of a State then containing less than four 
hundred and seventy thousand people. But he knew how, 
in the dread days of war, so to inspire and so to stimulate 
this little commonwealth a^ to make her send forth to battle 
and wounds and death on distant fields, for the sake of a 
righteous cause, more than fifty-three thousand of her sons ; 
— more than one-thii'd, almost one-half, of all the able-bodied 
men within her borders tit to bear arms. 

Perhaps, in his modesty, he did not know that he was 
great. We ourselves, who did know it, knew not how great 
he was until death and time, revealers of the truth, enabled 
us to take the just measure of his grand character and his 
lofty spirit. 

This imposing demonstration is the unerring witness to his 
greatness. From every hill, from every valley, from every 
city, and from every hamlet in the State, — from manj' States 
and from distant States, — the scarred veterans of the holy 
war have gathered together here, moved by one spontaneous, 
magnetic, and irresistible impulse, to associate with this cere- 
monial the memories of their patriotism, their sacrifices, and 
their valor. With the soldiers of the land have come the 
warriors of the sea. And with the soldiei's of the land and 
the warriors of the sea, a vast multitude of men, of all condi- 
tions, of all temperaments, of all beliefs, and of all passions, 
have come up hither witli one accord and in unity of spirit 
as to a high solemnity. 

What means this mighty movement? What means this 
universal and overpowering impulse ? 

It is the mystery — the old and eternal mystery — of the 



9 

power of a noble and royal spirit, a noble and heroic life,- 
over the hearts and lives of men. Such manifestations express 
the absolute sentiments of mankind — those sentiments which 
lie in the deep places of the heart — those sentiments which 
are the very life, the very reality and force of the human 
soul — those sentiments, which by a divine instinct, always 
seek and lind their true object — those sentiments which onlj' 
the living truth of things can kindle into blaze. 

He was great because he was a true type of the best char- 
acteristics of the race which founded and peopled Connect- 
icut. B)' his physical pedigree, by his intellectual pedigree, 
and by his moral pedigree, he was one of that strong race in 
body, mind, and soul ; and in him its superb traits reached 
their highest point of development. 

His sagacity was unerring ; his courage dauntless ; his will 
inflexible; his devotion to duty supreme; his faith in God 
absolute. 

Like the race from which he sprung, he loved peace; but, 
like that race, he feared not war. 

This little people, which in its infancy confronted, and 
with quick, terrific blows, smote and annihilated the savage 
enemies that swarmed around its cradle, — this little people 
that in its feeble youth sent out its little armies, in numbers 
excessively out of proportion to its strength, to light, beyond 
its frontiers, the battles of its king ; this little people that 
lavished its blood to the point of exhaustion in flghting out 
the War of Independence ; this little people that in the War 
for the Union sprang to its arms at the first sound of the 
buirle, and from the beo-innine; to the end of the contest 
answered, with instant response, every call of Lincoln, and 
every call of Buckingham, and more than answered them — 
always filling its quota, and more than filling it ; this little 
people, always peaceful in peace but always warlike in war ; — 
he was bone of their l)one, flesh of their flesh, the type, the 
ideal, the consummation and the flower of the high qualities 
which have made this little people great and its history 
glorious. 



10 . • ^ 

1 

The sculptor, himself a son of Connecticut, in whose veinis 
runs the same blood that warmed the heart of one of her 
early heroes, has approaclied with affectionate reverence the 
work which was committed to his hands. He was equal to 
the work. With the finger of genius he has touched the 
bronze and wakened it to life immortal. Remove, sir, the 
veil, and disclose to us the grave face and majestic form of 
the War Governor. 

Let us behold him in the midst of the surroundings which 
best befit him. 

This stately capitol, with all wealth of marble and of 
granite and of decoration, is henceforth to be his appropriate 
resting-place. This vestibule, consecrated already by these 
tattered flags M'hich his right hand delivered to the brave 
men whom he sent forth to battle and his right hand received 
from them when they came back victorious, will be made 
more sacred forever by his august presence. 

At the close of the address the statue was uncovered 
l)y Governor Waller, who made the address of reception, as 
follows : 

GOVERNOR WALLER'S ADDRESS. 

The honorable duty, sir, assigned to tlie commission of 
which you are chairman, and for which you have so eloquently 
spoken, has been discharged with eminent fidelity and 
judgment. 

The noble statue, unveiled with so many expressions of a 
commonwealth's regard and a people's affection, is accepted 
in the name of the State, and dedicated to tlie memory of him 
it is designed to perpetuate and honor. 

The genius of the sculptor has given to us and secured to 
posterity in this majestic bronze, a faithful, impressive like- 
ness and presentment of Connecticut's War Governor. Its 
contemplation satisfies us. It recalls to the minds and hearts 
of those who have seen him in the vigor of his public 
life, in the places of honor to which official duty and courtesy 
called him, — in the executive chamber, in the Senate of the 
nation, in the camp of the soldier, or in the inaugural parade 



11 

and procession as commander-in-cliiet', — tliat open, kindly 
face, and dignified, manly form our eyes loved to look upon. 
It does more! Its contemplation is exalting. Standing in 
its solemn presence our hearts are brought into communion 
with the lofty spirit of him who reverenced in public, as in 
private life, " his conscience as his king." 

The stately figures in marble and bronze, of Trumbnll and 
Buckingham, the War Governors of Connecticut in the Revo- 
lution and the Rebellion, now adorn this magnificent building, 
and the places they occupy are of historic import. The 
statue of Trumbull, who took such a conspicuous part in the 
formation of this Government, stands where in honor it 
should, at the very portals of the Capitol of this common- 
wealth. The statue of Buckingham is appropriately here. 
Its position in this part of the Capitol, in which are placed 
the sad but honored trophies of our State in the War of the 
Rebellion, adds to its memorial significance, and these worn 
and blood-stained battle-flags, standing like so many sentinels 
of honor to guard it, add to its glory. 

Connecticut never rendered more fitting honors than those 
of to-day, to either civilian or soldier, living or dead. And 
these honors are enhanced by the presence of that gallant 
regiment of citizen soldiers, who come representing in this 
day's celebration the metropolitan city of our country, and 
the Empire State of our Union. 

Let us, fellow-citizens, on this memorable day, at the base 
of this statue, as at the foot of an altar, consecrate ourselves 
anew to that loyalty and devotion to our State and our 
country, that animated the life of him whose effigy we are 
beholding, and whose memory we revere. 

After the unveiling, the orator of the day, Hon. Orville H. 
Piatt, U. S. Senator, spoke as follows from a platform at the 
jiorth entrance of the Capitol : 



12 



SENATOR PLATT'S ORATION. 

Veteran Soldiers and Fellow- Citizens: 

For every occasion God provides a viian. Coiinecticiit's 
share in the War for the ITnion was an occasion, and the man 
was William A. Buckingham. 

For three-fourths of a century prior to 1861 the people 
of our State had been passing their days in peaceful pursuits. 
No great crisis had invoked their moral heroism since tlie 
time of the Revolution ; neither the War of 1812 nor the 
Mexican AV^ar had deeply stirred them. The martial deeds 
in which they gloried belonged to the struggle for independ- 
ence. The heroes whom they revered were the soldiers of 
1776. Through two generations the energies of its citizens 
had been spent in the improvement of education, in the 
development of its resources, and the maintenance of its 
social system. Of the State it might with em])hasis be said, 
" Her ways were ways of pleasantness, and all her paths were 
peace." War was a matter of history ; that strife and blood- 
shed should ever again disturb its quiet life seemed incredible. 
In these days, with memories of great battles, of great 
victories, and terrible losses still fresh in our minds, it is 
impossible to realize the sense of peaceful security which had 
so long pervaded the State. When, on the very eve of armed 
rebellion, men began to say that war was inevitable, the 
prediction only excited an incredulous smile. 

But the men of C^onnecticut had a noble parentage. Its 
history, culminating in constitutional government and com- 
plete independence, had l)een one prolonged struggle for 
personal freedom and civil liberty. The Cliarter Oak was a 
" sacred tree ; " the exploits of the Sons of Liberty a cherished 
memory. The heroism and sacrifice of its founders and 
defenders had entered into the character of the quiet and 
sedate men of 1860, and the ancestral blood in their veins 
needed but the occasion to pulsate with the Hery throb of 
patriotism. Through all those peaceful years men had 
retained tlie great triune love of tlieir fathers, — love of Right, 
of Freedom, and of God. It was said of them that the heroic 



13 



^irit ^vas dead, — tliat they had become shop-keepers, " dougli- 
es," cowards. " Those wlio shmdei'ed them forgot tliat tlie 
en from whose loins tliey sprung knew no fear l)iit the fear 
■ God. 

8ucli were the peojde of Connecticut when called to meet 
le great issue forced upon tliem by the slaveholding States. 
oving freedom with an intense love, they abhorred slavery 
•ith an equally intense hatred. So long as it was contined to 
le States where it had existed, they believed it to l)e beyond 
each, and themselves beyond responsibi]it3^ From its estab- 
ishment Connecticut had been very jealous of its rights as a 
ree and independent State ; it limited its claim to complete 
lovereignty only by the powers which by the Constitution had 
been expressly delegated to Congress. Whatever of inde- 
pendence and st)vereignty her citizens claimed for Connecticut 
they freely conceded to every State; and so, though pained 
and shamed that in a boasted land of freedom men were 
fettered and scourged and bought and sold, they saw no 
remedy. Some of the more intense spirits appealed to the 
higher law which bade them strike a blow for freedom wher- 
ever man was wronged and oppressed; l)ut the great mass of 
the people admitted with regret that the States in which 
slavery existed must be allowed to maintain and regulate it 
without interference ; the i)ublic conscience was satisfied with 
earnest moral protest. But slaverj^ growing arrogant, de- 
manded the i-ight to invade the common territory of the 
people, and hunt its fugitives on Connecticut soil. Long 
repressed by what tliey deemed a constitutional obligation 
not to interfere witli slavery in the States, they leaped with a 
great bound into the conflict for free territories, and for 
personal liberty within our borders. 

From 1850 to ISGU the agitation increased ; the path of 
duty became plain and luminous. Liberty, law, human 
rights, became verj^ present realities. Men acted from con- 
viction with very little thought of consequences. The politi- 
cal campaign of 1856, with its stirring watchwords, " Free 
soil, free speech, tree men," aroused a marvelous moral 
enthusiasm. Other controversies Over which there had been 



r ^ 



14 

(iivisioii were lart^elj foi'gotteii. The two bnniing questioiii 
of the hour were, Should the l)light and wrong of slavery bt 
fastened on the common territory of the United States 
Should slaves be hunted and captured in Connecticut? Ou 
citizems met the slave-master on the border line of Kansas ; 
our Legislature affirmed the right of the State to guarantee 
freedom within its jurisdiction by the passage of a " ])ersonal[ie 
liberty bill ; " men l)egan to speak of the " Spirit of '76," and 
of the flag which Putnam unfurled at Bunker Hill, bearingL 
the legend, "An appeal to Heaven." Political action caniqiV 
to be measured only by considerations of right and wrong- 
whatever was right was to be adhered to without reference! 
to expediency ; whatever Avas wrong was to be condemned 
regardless of results. 

So the State approached its election in the spring of 1860. 
Ko such political contest was ever fought in Connecticut.^i 
Threats of secession, of armed resistance to Government'' 
authority, were alread}^ heard. The struggle here was to 
give character to the national contest in l^ovember. The 
election was national in its issues, its impoftance, its results. |)i 
It was not free from personal bitterness, and it was under- il 
stood to determine where Connecticut Avas to stand in a con 
flict, the end of which could not be foreseen — a conflict never 'l 
equaled in moral grandeur and mighty results. By a meager 
majority, in an election which brought every voter to the 
polls, the opponents of slavery extension triumphed. But 
though meager it was a decisive majority. From that stormy 
.flrst Monday of April, 1S60, Connecticut took no backward 
step ; its every movement was an advance under the banner 
of ecpial rights for all. The presidential election of Novem- 
ber was, so far as Connecticut was (ioncerned, determined in 
advance. Calm and unmoved she listened, during the hot 
summer nujnths and the beautiful autumn season that fol- 
lowed, to the threats of disunion. Her farmers tilled the 
fields and gathered the bounteous crops ; her artisans and 
mechanics kept the busy wheels of production in motion ; and 
in November, with less excitement but with greater emphasis, 



15 






iiite« 



:iriiiff 



voters registered lier Already expressed verdict, that 

dom was national and slavery sectional. 

^•The live years preceding the election of Abraham Lincoln 

1 been years of rapid moral growtlu Principle and ftiith 

'"'"^ :1 come to be the motives of political action ; men had 

bome terribly in earnest, great in purpose, heroic in action. 

le old love of civil liberty, the old devotion to free govern- 

3nt, which for years seemed to exist only as cherished remi- 

scences, became all at once vital princijdes, controlling the 

iblic life. There had been a new birtli of liberty, and men 

-"~|oked into the eye of the future without a tremor. 

'^^"'ej Closely following the election of Lincoln came in rapid 

quence the secession of seven States ; the rebellious seizure 

'ships, forts, arsenals, and munitions of war; the defection 

the Army and Navy ; tlie withdrawal of Senators and Rep- 

sentatives ; the provisional Confederation ; the demand for 

t"lie surrender of Fort Moultrie ; the removal of Anderson to 

'olort Sumter ; its siege ; the erection of rebel batteries for its 

ejednction ; the firing on tlie Star of the West in its attempt to 

rovision Sumter ; negotiations for compromise, and peaceful 

lissolution. All this in four short months, and not a single 

.ct done by the Government to assert its authority. Tiebel- 

ion Avas accomplished. The Government seemed at its 

nercy. LIow the patriotic people of Connecticut chafed at 

he supineness of the Executive! How dark and gloomy 

kvas the outlook ! 

Li March, 1861, President Lincoln, in spite of the plot for 

his assassination, was inau2i;urated. When on the historic 

* 
eastern portico of the National Ca]utol, ])rotected by loyal 

soldiers, he swore to preserve, protect, ami defend the Con- 
stitution of the United States, a change came over national 
affairs. A little light i>-limmered in the darkness. His 
imiugural address, now so famous for its s])irit of conciliation 
and its steadfast purpose to preserve the Union, brought hope 
to weary, waiting hearts in C'onnecticut. What a wonderful 
})atlios there was in Lincoln's appeal to the rebels to return 
to their allegiance ! I think there is nothing like it in history. 
Let me recite it : 



16 

" In your hands, my dissatisiied fellow-conntn'men, and' 
not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The Gov 
ernment will not assail you ; yon can have no conflict withou 
being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oatli registered 
in heaven to destroy the Government, while I shall have th 
most soleinn one to preserve, protect, and defend it. I ah 
loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends ; Ave mns 
not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it mus 
not break our bonds of aflf'ection." 

The marvelous appeal was unheeded. The Rebellion gath 
ered strength daily. 

In April, 1S61, in the very darkest hour of our history, — 
darker, and, seemingl}^ more hopeless than when our armies 
subsequently met with reverses in the field, — the people oi 
the State again recorded at the polls their determination to 
preserve the imperiled nation. The question then squarely 
made, and as squarely met, was, Avhether the Government 
might use force, might " coerce " a seceding State ? Connect 
icut, by its vote, answered Yes. 

Very strange it seems to us now that, although seven State? 
had declared themselves to be no longer in the Union, had 
set up a hostile government, and were making preparation 
for offensive war, a large portion of our people did not believe' 
that a conflict of arms was really imminent. They had been 
so long accnstomed to the pursuits and pleasures of peaceful 
life that it was impossible to realize that a prolonged and 
deadly war was impending. Largely this feeling came from 
the willingness of onr people to concede to the seceding States | 
all rights and privileges guaranteed them by the Constitution, 
and a belief that sooner or later they Avould listen to reason, 
and resume their places in the Union. They could not 
believe that the rebels would commence actual hostilities. 
Thus, as the weeks rolled on, they patiently waited the return- 
ing allegiance of the South. Anxious days were those, — 
waiting, and hoping, and conciliating in vain. All eyes were 
flxed on Sumter and its little garrison. Nearer and nearer 
the rebels planted their batteries, and still no response fromt 
the fort. Would Sumter be re-enforced ? Would its garrison , 



17 

be starved into surrender? AVould the rebels be mad enougli 
to attack it ? What tension of expectancy in all hearts ! 
" Whom the gods would destroy they iirst make mad," The 
cannon which sounded the roll-call to duty was fired by rebels 
npon a United States fort manned by United States soldiers, 
over whom waved the United States flag. 

The supreme hour Irad struck ; the sound of rebel guns in 
a far-off State smote upon the ears of the loj^al men of Con- 
necticut and stimulated them to sublime action. 

Fifty-seven years before this event, in the quiet town of 
Lebanon, far-famed for its natural beauty and the long line 
of its noted and noble men, William A. Buckingham was 
born. Who could have foreseen — as his early youth was 
developed and his character molded by the influences of 
the little hill-town in Eastern Connecticut — that lie was des- 
tined, under the guiding hand of Providence, to lead the 
good State, in the time of its greatest trial, along the path of 
its loftiest endeavor ? Plow little we see of the highway of 
the Lord from its entrance-gate ! A Puritan ancestry, gentle 
and godly training amid scenes of rural loveliness, the inspi- 
ration of patriotic historj-, the earnest, though limited, educa- 
tion of the village school and academy, constituted the foun- 
dation on which was builded thecharacter of our "War Gov- 
ernor," whose memory all Connecticut to-day unites to honor. 
A well-develo])ed, symmetrical character it was, — so full, so 
rounded out, that even after the lapse of many years one can 
scarcely say in what he was specially strong, in what his 
greatness specially consisted, or what it was that specially 
endeared him to the people. He garnered physical strength 
and endurance by labor on the farm ; he acquired a knowl- 
edge of business in a merchant's store ; he expanded and en- 
larged his knowledge of aflairs in the more widely-extended 
business of a manufacturer. He imbibed a rigid morality 
from the example and precept of a just and upright father. 
He inherited benevolence and kindness from a generous and 
]o\'ing mother. Genuine obedience and simple trust were 
wrought into his nature by Christian teaching ; earnest, un- 
wavering devotion to duty came with his early submission to 

3 



18 

the will of an infinite Master. Emphatically, he was a man 
" Dilisjent in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." 

Horace Bushnell's estimate of Trumbull, the War Governor 
of the Revolution, fits e(|ually the character of Buckingham ; 
" He was one of those patient, true-minded men, who hold 
an even hand of authority in stormy times and suffer nothing 
to fall out of place either by excess or defect of service." 

The man thus trained in the school of Providence to become 
the representative of the thought and purpose of Connecticut, 
was first elected Governor in 1858. Re-elected annualh' there- 
after, he had, before the breaking out of the war, thorouglily 
acquainted himself with the State and its citizens, and secured 
in an unusual degree the respect and confidence of all its 
people. To know him was to admire and love him. He had 
foreseen more clearly than others the coming struggle. He 
had earnestly appealed to the Legislature and the people to 
put the militia on an effective footing. On the 17th of Jan- 
uary, 1861, by proclamation, he urged the militia companies 
to fill their ranks, perfect themselves in drill, " and be ready 
to render such service as any exigenc}' may demand ; " and 
without authority he purchased equipments for five thousand 
soldiers. Nevertheless, the crisis found the State uni)repared 
for war. Its only preparation had been in the hearts of its. 
sons, — they were ready. 

History tells us of occasions when, long centuries having 
rolled by, the whole world, in the hush of expectation, w^aits 
for the happening of an event which shall uplift humanity 
and open new highways for the march of freedom and faith. 
So waited the world for the firing of the first gun at Sumter. 
Connecticut was stirred to its depths ; no eloquence may 
describe, no words portray, the great uprising. Till that 
grand hour men never knew themselves ; such abnegation, 
such patriotic fervor, comes to a people but once in the long 
ages ; but when it does come, the world sees hoAv grandly 
humanity takes on the Divine. We look back to that crucial 
day, and see now, with clear eyes, what we then dimly saw, 
that it was, in very truth, God's own muster of His host. 
Sumter was assailed on Friday. Sunday will forever be 



19 

known in tlie liistory of the State as " Battle Sunday." Men 
all unused to jjra^'er and service felt then, for the first time, 
the glow of a holy consecration. Men, till then careless of 
obligation, were baptized with the spirit of duty; men, who 
had lived foi* ease and pleasure, courted and welcomed a life 
of hardship and suffering; men, of gentle lives and dainty 
thoughts, grew, in an hour, into the stern, heroic soldiers of 
the Union ; wealth lost its charms; death lost its sting ; love 
blossomed into self-denial ; all distinctions were broken down ; 
])olitical animosities were forgotten ; men met and embraced 
each other on the common ground of a great purpose. We 
called it patriotism ; it was more than that,— it was man's 
answer to the voice of the xllmighty. 

The sentiment of the people struggled to find fitting 
expression; it was voiced at last in the opening sentence 
of that grandest of later poems, the "Battle Hymn of 
the Republic," commencing : 

Mine eyes have seeu the gloiy of the coming of the Lord. 

It was more than a sentiment ; it was a Divine afilatus 
which filled the soldiers, who chanted as they marched : 

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, 
With a glory in His bosom which transfigures you and me; 
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free, 
While God is marching on. 

Words acquired new meanings. Loyalty and disloyalty 
were on every tongue, and marked the wide difl^erence be- 
tween a patriot and a rebel. The flag of the Union grew 
bright, and starry, and holy. Men, never suspected of music 
in their souls, sang the chorus : 

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, 
And this be our motto, "In God is our trust; " 
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave 
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. 

The tri-vine flag of Connecticut, bearing its motto of living 
faith, was displayed side by side with the national emblem, 
proclaiming then, as when they now drape in unison the 
statue of Buckingham, that allegiance to State and allegiance 
to country are one, and each is but allegiance to God. 



20 

To lead and direct a people thus inspired, AVilliam A. 
Buckingham was specially chosen. In his faultless character, 
one quality stood out strikingly — it was his sublime relig- 
ious faith. It pervaded and energized the whole man. I 
know that the fervor of those days seems to have passed, so 
much so, indeed, that it may seem inappropriate to dwell on 
this controlling element in Buckingham's cliaracter ; hut truth 
and justice demand it. Like Washington at. Valley Forge, 
he met the crisis with prayer, and from the beginning to the 
end of the trial went forward with a calm bearing born of 
the undoubting faith that he was but an instrument in the 
hand of the Lord God Almighty to do His will, to preserve 
His chosen nation, to set His people free. Who shall deny, 
even in this skeptical day, that faith alone makes man truly 
great? It made Buckino-ham o-reat ; and we shall do but 
partial justice to his memory, or his ability, if we do not 
recognize and honor this noblest, grandest quality of the 
man. As I recall his bearing in those years of peril, I cannot 
but feel that he combined in character the stern justice of 
Israel's judge and the rapt spirit of the Hebrew prophet. 
His God, during the war, was the God of the Old Testament. 
He served Jehovah, the Man of AVar. The army of the 
Union was the army of the Lord. 

Scarcely had the electric flash written on our hearts the 
reality of war begun, when it sounded Lincoln's call for 
seventy-five thousand men " to repossess the forts, places, and 
property, which had been seized from the Union;" " to main- 
tain the honor, integrity, and existence of our national Union, 
and the perpetuity of popular governnient, and redress 
wrongs long-enough endured." The share ot Connecticut in 
the requisition was a single regiment ; but in Buckingham's 
mind her share in the conflict was not to be limited by the 
requirement of the President. Our quiet, peaceful experi- 
ence had made our militia ludicrous and our military laws 
obsolete. We had no troops ready for the field, and no law 
by which they could be sent out of the State. On the day 
succeeding the President's call, Governor Buckingham made 
an appeal to the people of the State for volunteers, unlimited 



21 

as to numbers. You, to whom I sj)eak, know how that 
appeal was answered. In fonr days, an organized regiment 
was in camp. On May 1st, wlien tlie Legislature met, forty 
companies liad been aeee])ted ; a week later, and tifty-tbur 
conipanies in all had tendered their services to the Governor 
in answer to the President's call for a single regiment. 

I need not in this presence recall the incidents which 
attended volunteering. I need not speak of the never-fading 
glory of those days. We may forget many things, but the 
supreme moment of life is forgotten never ; and it needs no 
words of description, or eulogy, to preserve forever bright in 
your memory, and in the memory of a grateful people, the 
transcendent fervor and unselfish devotion of that hour. 

Governor Buckingham's message in May, 1861, has be- 
come a part of our treasured history. It was characteristic 
of the man — calm, dignified, firm, direct, strong. In its 
every line %ve may read to-day the purpose and faith not 
only of its author but of the people to whom it was ad- 
dressed. I quote but a sentence : 

" The scepter of authority must be upheld and allegiance 
secured. It is no time to make concessions to rebels or par- 
ley with men in arms. We must make no sacrilice of princi- 
ples vital to freedom and no indecent haste for conciliation 
and peace. ' God makes haste slowly.' Fail, or falter, we 
shall not. . . . Entering on the desiderate struggle before 
us, let us rest assured that w^e tight not this battle alone. 
. . . The sympathies, the benedictions, the prayers of the 
civilized M^orld are with us ; and God Himself is with us. Let 
us, then, register in heaven our vows that, in lirm reliance 
on Him, and on the righteousness of our cause, we will, if 
need be, make the battle-fields of this second war of inde- 
pendence altars of patriotic sacrifice and watch-words of lib- 
erty forever." 

1 may not dwell in detail on the four long, sad years of 
bitter strife that followed. I must repress the desire to recall 
the heroic achievements of the sons of Connecticut on the 
glorified battle-fields of the Union. In victory, in defeat, in 
camp, in prison, in life, and in holy death, they were true to 



22 

tlieir State, their Country, to Freedom, and to God. I weave 
no cliaplet of lanrel for those who survive, for their fellow- 
citizens have crowned them with their re\'erence. I lay no 
tiower garlands on the graves of the slain, for we cherish in 
our lieart of hearts to-da}", and forever, the men who died to 
sav^e our country. 

Our present duty is to set forth the love and revci'ence 
home by a grateful State for the man who, by his position, 
represented and embodied the purpose, devotion, and valor of 
all. Through the varying fortunes of the conflict he was 
the same active, faithful, uncompromising ]»atriot. The 
people of the State acknowdedged him as their lawful head, 
listened to his advice with profound respect, obeyed his 
orders with a perfect obedience, reposed in him a loyal confi- 
dence, and learned to love him "with a rare love. No other 
man but Trumbull ever so illustrated the rich meaning of 
the word we have chosen to designate our chief magistrate — 
he w^as most truly and emphatically our Govej'nor. The 
duties of his oftice were arduous and trying; but he never 
seemed to feel weariness. He was never content with the 
formal discharge of official duty. He was the foremost citi- 
zen, as well as the elected ruler of the State, and his great 
lieart gave character to his pul)lic acts. At the outset he 
pledged his private fortune for the equipment and arming of 
the troops. Whatever money could procure for their comfort 
and enjoyment, beyond the things authorized by the State, 
he supplied at his own expense. The sum of his benefaction 
will never be told. Benevolent by nature, his Christian ex- 
perience taught him that he was God's steward and almoner, 
and he gave as he believed God's Spirit prompted him. 
His gifts gladdened many a soldier in distress. To a citizen 
of C^onnecticut, whose duties kept him much at the front, he 
said: "You will see a good many battles, and much suffer- 
ing ; but don't let any Connecticut man suffer for want of 
anything that can be done for him. If it costs money, draw 
on me for it." When the news of our victory at Gettysburg 
reached him, he answered by telegraph: " Take good care of 



23 

tlie Connecticut men." He eaiue to regard the Connecticut 
soldiers as his own children. 

I have often thought that lie bore the burden of all those 
who had relatives in the field, and the sorrows of all those 
who were bereaved. No wonder that he won for himself 
that choice and touching appellation, " Tiie Soldiers' Friend."' 
The strain on mind and body was intense. The equipment 
and forwarding of troops required constant activity. He was 
frequently in canqi, looking after the welfare of the recruits. 
Not a regiment left the State but he was present at it depart- 
ure, bidding it Godspeed, and inspiring it with " words of 
lofty cheer," Not a regiment retui'ued from the field that he 
did not welcome back to the State. It was no easy thing for 
him to accept regiment after regiment of the bravest and 
best of Connecticut's young men, and send them forth to 
battle, in the full assurance that many of them would only 
return wrapped in the flag they had died to sustain. How 
his sympathetic heart must have been wrung with grief, as, 
in all parts of the State, he followed to the grave those who 
had fallen in the fight, and M'ere brought home to rest in the 
se})ul('her of their fathers ! Sad days, tearful hours, were 
those; to none more so than to Governor Buckingham. But 
whatever others might do, he must not falter. Whatever 
discouragement others might feel, he must be ever hopeful. ♦ 

Few men maintained, through all the vicissitudes of the 
war, the same undoubting confidence in final victory as he. 
Here his grand faith sustained him. For him 

To doubt would be disloyaltj'; 
To falter would be sin. 

To his trusting heart the war was God's own conflict, in 
which He, in His own good time and way, would surely 
triumph. No child ever believed more simply and truly in a 
father's ability to accomplish results than Buckingham be- 
lieved God would cause the right to prevail in the conflict. 
This belief pervaded all his State papers and characterized 
all his jirivate utterances; it steadied the State when it 
needed steadying. An extract or two from his messages will 
show this. In his message of May, 1862, he said : 



24 

" We slioiild, to the force of these right arms, add that 
moral power, which is drawn from the deep conviction that 
our cause rests upon the same pillars of justice and equity 
which uphold the government of Jehovah. The decision will 
not be one of blind chance, but will be directed by God 
to accomplish His purposes." 

He closed his message at the special session of the Legisla- 
ture in December, 1862, in these characteristic words: 

" Let us give our energies to the work of suppressing this 
rebellion. Press on to the path of duty, and humbly trust in 
Him who holds the destinies of nations in His own counsels 
to work out the salvation of our beloved country." 

And again, in May, 1864: 

" JS^o peace can be insured to the subjects of any govern- 
ment, in heaven or on earth, without the exercise of power 
sufficient to subdue armed rebellion. . . , Let us eml)race 
tliis opportunity, and perform these duties with humble con- 
fidence that, under the guidance of the King of Kings, this 
revolution wnll carry the nation onward in the path of pros- 
perity, intelligence, and influence, and upward to a higher 
level of freedom, civilization, and Christianity."' 

He needed all his faith. Sometimes the days were vei'y 
dark, and the clouds which overhung the Union cause were 
thick and threatening. Many and sad were the reverses 
which our armies sustained. Terrible and sore was the grief 
which pervaded the State when our best loved ones met their 
fate in the lost battle. Sadder jet were the efforts of rebel 
sympathizers to thwart the success of our arms. There were 
times when the love of many waxed cold. The first fervor of 
]>atriotic impulse was too intense to continue.. Human nature 
was incapable of prolonging the first abnormal excitement. 
The time came when it was no longer a question of impas- 
sioned zeal, when the war made fearful drafts upon resources 
and upon men. It became a question of grim endurance. 

It is comparatively easy to guide and direct a State when 
all are exalted to the heroic pitch ; but to hold it steady to its 
high mission of duty in times of despondency and doubt 
requires rare judgment and force. It was in the doubtful 



25 

crises of the strife that Buckingliam's character shone bright- 
est. Not so much by his capacity for organization, by his 
ceaseless activity, by his generous deeds, do we judge what 
manner of man he was, as by noting how firmly and truly he 
resisted every tendency toward an ignoble peace, and how 
nobly he nerved the State to dnty when many were ready to 
abandon the Union cause. I will not at this distance of time 
speak harshly of any one; but in presenting a faithful sketch 
of Buckingham's character, 1 may not omit to say that as 
Connecticut had its tories in the war of the Revolution, so it 
had its peace-makers in the war for the Union. They were 
numerous after the defeat at Bull Hun. For a time it seemed 
as if enemies at home were to be more effective than enemies 
in the field. Tt> such an extent did efforts to procure a 
" cessation of hostilities '' and to prevent volunteering ])roceed 
that Governor Buckingham issued a proclamation, calling 
upon the officers of the law to be " active, fearless, and 
diligent in arresting and instituting legal proceedings for the 
punishment of those who disturb the public peace, of those 
who are guilty of sedition and treason, and of those who are 
embraced in combinations to obstruct the execution of the 
laws." This bold declaration had its effect, and put an end 
for the time-being to all ])ublic demonstrations looking to an 
inglorious peace. 

But time wore on ; the authoritj- of the Government was 
not restored ; large debts had been incurred ; every hamlet 
mourned its dead ; the emancipation proclamation emboldened 
men in saying that the war was being prosecuted rather to 
abolish slavery than to restore the Union ; nearly as many 
men had been sent to the field as were numbered on its 
militia rolls at the beginning of the war ; reverse after reverse 
met our efforts; the Bebellion seemed more powerful than 
ever, and the voice of the peace-maker was again heard in the 
State. 

On May 6, 1S(>3, the Legislature met. It was three days 
after the liattle of Chancellorsville. Fifty Connecticut sol- 
diers lay dead, and one hundred and thirty -five wounded on 
that stricken field. Five hundred more were on their way to 

4 



26 

rebel prisons. Among the dead were dear friends of the 
Governor, and yet how grandly he said in his message : 
" The conflict inaugurated at Sumter must go on until the 
Government shall conquer or be conquered." The conflict 
did go on until the Government did conquer. The State 
went on, and its people went on with new effort, new zeal, 
with restored faith. Whoever faltered or lost hope, Bucking- 
ham never did ; whoever else proved faithless, there was for 
Buckingham a '' God over all, blessed forever," whom he 
could trust, whom he did trust to the end. All honor to his 
more than Roman, his godly firmness ; all honor to the men 
of Coimecticut who followed where he led the way ; all honor 
to the fifty-five thousand brave soldiers of Connecticut who 
conquered peace— a peace which shall endure. A country 
reunited, a race enfranchised, a nation gi-eat, glorious, "and 
progressive — these are the fruits of the spirit which would not 
hearken to the ignominious cry of peace in our own borders. 

I may not omit, in truth, to speak of one trait of his 
character which, in view of a somewhat changed public senti- 
ment, may perhaps seem harsh and unlovely ; if it seems so 
to others, it does not to me. From the first gun at Sumter to 
the close at Appomattox, his whole nature was aflame with 
righteous indignation against those who had attempted to 
destroy the Nation's life. In his mind, rebellion was an 
awful crime against the Nation and against God. Crime, in 
his theology, deserved punishment; to his religious thought, 
penalty was God's logical vindication of violated law ; and so, 
in his eighth and last annual message, in May, 1805, when 
the grass had not yet sprouted on the fresh earth which filled 
the irraves of our soldier dead, in less than three weeks from 
the day when Lincoln was foully murdered, he voiced the 
universal sentiment of loyal people thus : 

" Leniency, without distinction between loyalty and treason, 
is more certain to subvert the Government than is rebellion 
itself. Clemency, at the sacrifice of justice, is the abandon- 
ment of government. Every field of carnage, every rebel 
prison, every soldier's grave, and the blood of the martyred 
President, unite with a violated law and demand the penalt3\ 



27 

Let it l)e inflicted, beginning M-itli tlie leaders in crime, and 
let it be tbllowed up with u firm liand until the innocent and 
the loyal shall be (conscious of security under the vindicated 
majesty of the law. Then, and not till then, may we safely re- 
store forfeited rights and extend forgiveness with a beneficent 
prodigality." 

AYho shall say that he was wholly Avrong ? And yet he 
was one of the kindest of men full of the tenderest sympathy — 
ready to overlook a fault, with an almost womanly love for 
his friends. Who shall say that justice and love are not con- 
sistent? Who shall say that it is not mistaken clemency 
which pardons unrepentant crime? Who shall say that such 
mistakes, though lauded as generosity, do not in the long i-un 
bear bitter fruit ? 

Probably not one of the War Governors, ^^lO held with 
steady hand the helm of State during the perilous storm, was 
more relied on by the President than Buckingham. A^ery 
early in the war, foreseeing the magnitude of the contest, he 
addressed the President a letter setting forth his views on 
the situation. Many of the suggestions contained in that let- 
ter were embodied in the President's message to Congress on 
the 4:tli of July, 180], and from that date onward Lincoln 
frequently consulted him. It is related of the President that 
being introduced to a Connecticut gentleman during the 
war, he quickly and impressively said : '' Do you know what 
a good Governor you have got ? " To another he said : 
"The Connecticut regiments give rae no trouble; Governor 
Buckingham always sends them fully equipped for any 
emergency." 

Well might the President rely on him. The country con- 
tained no truer patriot, no safer counselor. There may have 
been greater men, as the world counts greatness, but Buck- 
ingham, by his pure life, by his unselfish loyalty, by his 
intense love of the right, by his singleness of purpose, by his 
trust in the Lord of Hosts, earned his right to a place among 
the " heroes of faith." 

Ketirins- in 1866 from the otlice to which he had been 
elected for eight successive years by the people of the State, 



28 

he felt that his public work was done, and that he might Und 
the rest he so much needed in domestic life. He was not 
permitted long to enjoy such repose and pleasure. In 1808 
he was called to represent his State in the Senate of the 
United States. He was a faithful representative — a Senator 
worthy of the place — a Senator whose only ambitiou was to 
act rightly and be useful in his station. He won the regard 
of his fellow-Senators as he had already W(m the love of his 
constituents — by a spotless walk, a ])atriutic purpose, by 
devotion to duty. 

When the Senate joined with the State in mourning his 
loss, a brother Senator, now gone to his rest, said of him : 

" Sir, I should, wrong the memory of Governor Bucking- 
ham, and grieve his truthful spirit, only that his spirit is 
beyond the reach of grief, if I should neglect to bear testi- 
mony to one thing : There is, in this unbelieving generation, 
a loud, if not a large element, desperate, if not devilish, hop- 
ing nothing here and fearing nothing hereafter, which screams 
with derision of the Christian statesman. Standing by the 
grave of Buckingham, I must not forget to tell the world 
that he was what I never dared pretend to be — a Christian 
statesman.*' 

Much as he honored Connecticut in the Senate, it will be as 
Governor that he will be longest remembered and most loved. 
His opportunity and his effort were most conspicuous there. 

To-day, after the lapse of years, the State gathers hei-e to 
honor him who so honored the State. In the vestibule of 
this noble house, midway between the rent battie-liags whose 
every tattered shred is a tongue which proclaims the heroism 
of Connecticut soldiers, we place this statue. Touched by 
the magic art of the sculptor, the features seem to speak the 
virtues of our cherished War Governor. We place it thus in 
this marble hall that, so long as marble and bronze shall last, 
men, when they look upon that almost living face, shall be 
reminded that there was a time in the history of the State 
when Connecticut needed the services of a pure, wise, and 
strong man, and God provided for the occasion — Buckingham. 

" The things which are seen are temporal ; but the things 



29 

which are not seen are eternal.'" Marble and bronze are en- 
during, but character is more enduring than they. Marble may 
crumble, bronze may be defaced, but the life of Buckingham, 
already wrought into the very fiber of Connecticut character, 
is immortal. 

At the close of the addresses the benediction was ]>ro- 
iioimced by the Rev. Dr. George W. Smith, President of 
Trinity College, acting in the place of Bishop Williams, who 
had been invited but found himself unable to attend. In his 
letter to Senator Allen he said : '' I most sincerely trust that 
no inconvenience will occur to the Committee from this 
unwilling failure on my part, which I the more regret be- 
cause of my aliectionate regard for the late Governor and 
the honor in which I hold his memory." 

The idea of a memorial statue was first suggested at a meeting 
of the Veteran City Guard of Hartford, in 1881. The same year 
a petition for it was addressed to the General Assembly and there 
continued to the next Legislature. 

In 1882 a joint special committee recommended the selection of 
a commission to have in charge the procuring of a suitable statue, 
the appropriation not to exceed $16,200. The commission was 
appointed, and consisted of Gov. Hobart B. Bigelow and Hon. 
Henry B. Harrison of New Haven, Gen. William A. Aiken of 
Norwich, George G. Sill of Hartford, and Thomas J. Thurber of 
Putnam. The sculptor, Olin L. Warner, a native of Connecticut, 
and of patriotic ancestry, was engaged to execute the statue and 
set it in place for the sum of $10,000. 

For the unveiling ceremonies the sum of $6,000 was appropria- 
ted, of which an unexpended balance was returned to the Treasury 
of the State. 

The legislative commission on the statue ceremonies wa.s as 

follows: 

John Allen, Senator from 21st District. 
Capt. S. B. Horne of Winchester. 
E. BcRROws Brown of Groton. 
Jabez S. Lathrop of Norwich. 
Gen. Wm. H. Noble of Bridgeport. 
James W. Spelman of Suffield. 
George F. Spencer of Deep River. 
James R. Ayres of Orange. 
Thomas B. Walker of Coventrv. 



30 



REPORT OF THE GRAND MARSHAL. 

JIau'J'foki), Jniie 30, 1884. 
Hon. John Allen, Chairman, etc. 

Dear Sir;— I have the honor to make tlie following rcixnt 
concerning the parade of June 18th, on the occasion of tlio 
unveiling of the statue to the nieniory of the hite (lovernor 
Buckingham. 

Immediately on accepting the position of Grand Marshal, 
I sought and obtained the hearty cooperation of the entire 
press of the State, daily and weekly, and was able in this 
manner to call the attention of the survivors of the Union 
War, in every part of the State, to the proposed veteran 
parade. The iirst question to be decided was as to the char- 
acter of the parade, applications being made from several 
localities to have it composed of posts of the Grand Army of 
t\\e Republic. Believing that the action of the General 
Assembly, authorizing the celebration, contemplated a pai-ade 
by the old regimental organizations, I decided that it 
should be of this chai-acter; a decision which was approved 
by your commission, and which the result thoroughly justified. 
The number of old soldiers and sailors in line (over 7,400) 
was the largest ever assembled in the State, — with the possi- 
ble exception of Battle-tlag Day. Every organization which 
went to the war from the State was well represented, with the 
single exception of the Third Light Battery, which maintains 
no organization. Except for the intense heat of the da}^ 
there was nothing to mar the success of the parade. It was 
a day which will always be remembered by those who took 
part in it, and b}^ those who witnessed it. 

Volunteer military escorts were accepted from the First 
Company Governors Foot Guard, the First Regiment C. N. 
G., the famous Seventh Regiment N. G. S, N. Y., the Vete- 
ran City Guard, and the Asylum Hill Cadets. These com- 
mands paraded without expense to the State and added 
greatly to the pageantry of the occasion. 



31 

The followino; was the order of the parade (includiiio- also 
the names of the secretaries of the veteran regimental oro-an- 
izations, and the number of men present from each) : 

Platoon of Police. 

Grand Marshal. 

General Staff, Aids and Signal Corps. 

FIRST DIVISION. 

General John L. Otis (Tenth C. V.) Marshal. 

Colt's Armory Band, 

• First Regiment C. N. G., Col. L. A. Barbour. 

Cappa's Seventh Regiment Band, New York. 

Seventh Regiment New York City, N. G. S. N. Y., Col. Emnions 

Clark. 

SECOND DIVISION. 

Lt. H. P. Hitchcock, Assistant Marshal. 

Band and Rockville Drum Corps. 

Hartford Veteran City Guard, Major J. G. Rathbun. 

Niles Drum Corps. 

Asylum Hill Cadets, Capt. Thos. M. Smith. 

THIRD DIVISION. 

Major A. H. Embler, Marshal. 

Norwich City Band. 

Mattatuck Drum Corps, Waterbury. 

Govei'nor's Foot Guard, Hartford, Captain James C. Pratt. 

Governor Thomas M. Waller and Stafp', Mounted. 

Capt. Geo. M. Southmayd, Assistant Marshal. 

The Lieutenant-Governor, ex-Governors of the States, the State; 

Officers. 

The Buckingham Statue Commission. 

Commissioners on the Unveiling Exei'cises. 

The Orator of the Day, United States Senator 0. H. Piatt. 

The Sculptor, Olin D. Warner. 

Surviving State Officers of the War Period. 

Military Staff of Governor Buckingham. 



32 

Judges of the Supreme and Superior Courts. 

Brigadier-General S. R. Smith, C. N. G., and Staff. 

Military and Naval Guests. 

The Mayor of Hartford and the Mayors of other Cities. 

FOURTH DIVISION. 

Col. Jacob L. Greene, Sixth Michigan Cavalry, Marshal. 

Weed's Band of Hartford. 

Union Battalion (Soldiers of other States), Major H. C. Dwight 

(1,200 men), including Union Veteran Association of. 

New Haven, Captain Clark Peck. 

Drum Corps. 

Sons of Veterans. Hartford (30). 

Drum Corps. 

Nathan Hale Camp, Sons of Veterans, New Haven (40). 

Other detachments, Sons of Veterans (30). 

Captain F. M. Bunce, U. S. N., Assistant Marshal. 

Captain Walter Pearce, U. S. N., Aid. 

Elmwood Band. 

The Navy Battalion (300 men), Captain Charles A. Stillman. 

FIFTH DIVISION— (Connecticut Veterans.) 

Major General Henry W. Birge, Assistant Grand Marshal. 
Aids — Major F. A. Spencer, Capt. C. Quien, Capt. Fred. S. Sey- 
mour, Capt. Thomas Burke. 
Moodus Drum Corps — (16 pieces). 
Conn. Cavalry Association, Major L. P. Goodwin, Commanding. 
H. S. Woodward, Adjutant. Field Officers, Capt. I. B. Rog- 
ers, Capt. Wm. E. Riley, Lieut. Lester W. Cowles (250 men). 
Former field officers present: Brevet Brigadier- General, Rev. 
Erastus Blakeslee, Brevet Lieutenant-Col. Thos. G. Welles. 
Major L. P. Goodwin, .\ssistant-Surgeon H. M. Bishop, Chap- 
lain Thomas J. Holmes. (Secretary of the Association, Wm. 
T. Cook, Ledyard.) 

Lieut. Watson H. Blis.^, Assistant Marshal. 
Disabled Officers and Soldiers in carriages. 
' Capt. F. H. Waldron, Assistant Marshal. 

First Light Battery, Lieut. G. P. Bliss, Commanding. John T. 
Sloan, Adjutant (50 men). Former officers present: Capts. 
A. P. Rockwell, James B. Clinton, Lieutenants S. T. Porter, 



33 

S. W. Scranton. George P. Bliss, H. B. Smith, jr., Theron 
Upson. (Secretary, Theron Upson, Kensington, Conn.) 

Second Light Battery. Lieut. P. B. Segee, Commanding. Lieut. 
H. R. Chaffee, Adjutant (40 men). Other officers present: 
Lieuts. J. B. Hawley, Miles Gray, Frank H. Whiting. (Sec- 
retary, H. R. Chaffee, Bridgeport.) 

First Regiment Heavy Artillery, Major-General Henry L. Abhott, 
U. S. A., Commanding. C. W. Filer, Adjutant (570 men). 
Former field oflBcers present: Col. H. L. Abbott, Major A. F. 
Brooker, Col. Levi Woodhouse. 

Hubbard Drum Corps — (18 pieces). 

Second Regiment Heavy Artillery, Col. Jeffrey Skinner, Com- 
manding. Capt. J. N. Coe, Adjutant (250 men). Other field 
officers present: Major W. B. Ells, Assistant-Surgeon Robert 
G. Hazzard. (Secretary, D. C. Kilbourn, Litchfield.) 
Capt. John Bishop, jr., Assistant Marshal. 
Essex Cornet Band — (20 pieces). 

First, Second, and Third Regiments Infantry (3 months). Major 
Alexander Warner, Commanding. Lieut. Elijah Eggleston, 
Adjutant (100 men). (Secretary of three months' organiza- 
tion. Elijah Eggleston, Mcriden.) 

Lieut. H. S. Brown, Assistant Marshal. 
Lebanon Brass Band — (16 pieces). 

Fifth Regiment Infantry, Col. George D. Chapman, Commanding. 
Capt. E. E. Marvin, Adjutant (206 men). Field officers pres- 
ent: Col. W. W. Parker, Lieutenant-Col. W. S. Cogswell. 
(Secretary, J. S. Forsyth, Hartford.) 

Excelsior Drum Corps, Bridgeport. 

Sixth Regiment, Brigadier-General A. P. Rockwell, Commanding. 
Capt. A. B. Beers, Adjutant (165 men). (Secretary, W. F. 
Smith, New Haven.) 

Higganum Drum Corps — (15 pieces). 

Seventh Regiment, Major-General Joseph R. Hawley, Command- 
ing. Ira E. Hicks, Adjutant (181 men). (Secretary, Stephen 
Walkley, Southington.) 

Wolcottville Brass Band — (20 pieces). 

Eighth Regiment, Major H. M. Hoyt, Commanding. Lieut. John 
S. Lane, Adjutant (207 men). Other field officers present: 
Brigadier-General Edward Harland, Dr. M. Storrs. (Secre- 
tary. Harlan Chapin, Munson, Mass.) 

5 



'34 

Col. R. FiTZGiBBONS, Assistant Marshal. 
Winsted Band — (20 pieces). 
Ninth Regiment, Col. John G. Healy, Commanding (100 men). 
Lieut. Wm. Gleeson, New Elaven, Adjutant and regimental 
Secretary. 
Kellogg Post Drum Corps. 
Tenth Regiment, Brigadier-General E. S. Greeley, Commanding. 
Lieut. Benj. Wright, Adjutant (205 men). Former field 
officers present: Gen. J. L. Otis, Gen. B. D. S. Goodyear. 
Quartermaster H. K. Parsons, Surgeons A. T. Douglass, M. 
T. Newton, C. R. Hart, L. H. Pease, Chaplain H. Clay Trum- 
bull. (Secretary, D. L. Durand, Birmingham.) 
Middletown Drum Corps — (20 pieces). 
Eleventh Regiment, Capt. E. H. Foote, Commanding. Capt. 
Henry Eastman. Adjutant (101 men). Among officers pres- 
ent was Capt. S. B. Home of the Buckingham Day Legisla- 
tive Commission. (Secretary, A. E. Carey, Greeneville, Conn.) 
Maj. C. H. Owen, Assistant Marshal. 
Poquonock Drum Corps — (17 pieces). 
Twelfth Regiment, Capt. L, A. Dickinson, Commanding. Capt. 
James E. Smith, Adjutant (208 men). (Secretary, H. P. 
Clapp, Hartford.) 

Columbia Brass Band of Branford — (20 pieces). 
Thirteenth Regiment, Col. Homer B. Sprague, Commanding. 
Capt. W. C. Gardner, Adjutant (175 men). Former field 
officers present: Col. H. W. Birge, Lieutenant-Colonel Alex- 
ander Warner, Dr. George Clary. (Secretary, J. C. Kinney, 
Hartford.) 

Douglas Drixm Corps of Middletown. 
Fourteenth Regiment, Major John C. Broatch, Commanding. Major 
Wm. B. Hincks, Adjutant (158 men). Former field officers 
present: Col. Dwight Morris, Lieut.-Col. S. A. Moore, Major 
James B. Coit, Dr. P. H. Rockwell, Dr. Levi Jewett, Chaplain, 
H. S. Stevens. (Secretary, J. W. Knowlton. Bridgeport.) 
Sassacus Drum Corps of Meriden — (10 pieces). 
Fifteenth Regiment, Capt. M. A. Butricks, Commanding. Capt. 
P. C. Rand, Adjutant (200 men). Field officers present. Col. 
C. L. Upham, Lieut.-Col. Samuel Tolles. (Secretary, l\ C 
Rand, Meriden.) 

Manchester Silver Flute and Drum Corps. 



35 

Sixteentli l\egiment, Lieut.-Col. F. W. Cheney, Commanding. 
Capt. John B. Clapp, Adjutant ('J 19 men). (Secretary, B. F. 
Blakeslee, Hartford.) 

Capt. S. G. Blakeman, Assistant Marshal. 

Seventeenth Regiment, Capt. H. P. Burr, Commanding. George 
W. Keeler, Bridgeport, Adjutant and Secretary (200 men). 
Field officers present: General W. H. Noble (of Legislative 
Commission). Col. Henry Allen. 

Twentieth Regiment, Capt. S. E. Chaifee, Commanding. Capt. 
James Spruce, Adjutant (253 men). (Secretary, W. W. 
Morse, New Haven.) 

Mansfield Drum Corps of Middletown — (15 pieces). 

Twenty-First Regiment, Major Wm. Spittle, Commanding. J. B. 
Baldwin, Adjutant (252 men). (Secretary, J. A. Brown, 
Mount Hope, Conn.) 

Tubbs' Band of Norwicli. 

Eighteenth and Twenty-sixth Regiments (combined by special 
request of Norwich soldiers). Col. Joseph Selden (26th), com- 
manding. Capt. J. E. Woodward, commanding Eighteenth, 
Lieut. Wm. Caruthers, Adjutant (250 men). (Secretary of 
Eighteenth Association, T. L. W. Huntington, Norwich.) 
N. D. Sevin, Norwich, Adjutant and Secretary of 26th. 
(140 men). 

Hazardville Brass Band — (22 pieces). 

Twenty-second Regiment, Col. Geo. S. Burnham, commanding. 
Lieut. D. W. C. Skilton. Adjutant (316 men). Lieutenant- 
Col. E. N. Phelps. (Secretary, H. R. Morley, Hartford.) 
Lieutenant Geo. W. Tuckeu, Assistant Marshal. 
Bethel Band — (20 pieces). 

Tw'enty-third Regiment, Major David H. Miller, commanding. 
Lieut. Wm. B. Betts, Adjutant (125 men). (Secretary, Wm. 
H. Hine, Bridgeport.) 

Twenty-fourth Regiment Field Music — (10 pieces). 

Twenty-fourth Regiment, Lieutenant-Col. J. D. Allison, com- 
manding. Lieut. A. H. Conklin, Adjutant (182 men). 
(Secretary, George W. Moses, New Haven.) 
Meriden Band — (22 pieces). 

Twenty-fifth Regiment, Colonel George P. Bissell, commanding. 
Lieut. A. W. Converse, Adjutant (226 men). (Secretary, 
H. A. Kippen, Hartford.) 



36 

Drum Corps. 

Twenty-seventh Regiment, Lieut. E. A. Smith, commanding. 
Lieut. F. M. Chapman, Adjutant (120 men). (Secretary, 
A. D. Baldwin, New Haven.) 

Twenty eighth Regiment, Lieutenant-CJol. W. T. Batcheller, -com- 
manding. Lieut. E. E. Pahner, Adjutant (84 men). Major 
Wm. B. Wescome. (Secretary, B F. Marsh, West Winsted.) 
Drum Corps. 

Twenty-ninth and Tiiirtieth Regiments, consolidated, Lieutenant- 
Col. F. E. Camp, commanding. Major (Rev.) Edward W. 
Bacon. Adjutant, Edward Coe (130 men). Former field 
officers present, Col. Wm. B. Wooster, Col. David Torrance. 
(Secretary, Edward Coe, New Haven.) 

It should be stated tliat after the various orgaiiizations had 
reported the number present, there were a large number of 
fresh arrivals on delayed trains. 

Headquarters tents (provided by the Quartermaster-Gen- 
eral's department in acc(n"dance with a resolution of the 
General Assembly) were ]>laced along the i-iver bank of 
Bushnell Park properly designated, and the veterans on arriv- 
ing, easily found their quarters, and formed companies and 
battalions without delay. The column was formed in pla- 
toons of twelve liles, closed in mass, the line being handled 
by signals from elevated points commanding the entire line 
and preventing any breaks. The march was begun at 12 
o'clock noon, and the head of the column reached the capitol 
about 2 o'clock. The parade was made through Ford, High, 
Church, and Ann streets to North Main, down T'ain, passing 
around City Hall and Post Office square, to the South Park, 
through Jefferson and AVasliington to the Capitol. All along 
the line of march the city was brilliantly decorated, and fnlly 
seventy thousand people witnessed the parade. During its 
progress a national salute was fired and all the church bells 
were rung. 

It had been intended to mass the command at the south 
front of the capitol, in order to march through the building- 
after the unveiling exercises. But owing to the intense heat 
and the lack of shade this seemed impracticable. The mili- 



37 

tary escort was accordingly excused and the veteran line was 
directed at once to the dining- tents on the park. 

It is impossible to give too much praise to the niagnitii;enl 
manner in which the Jlarttbrd citizens' committee provided 
fur the entertainment of the multitude. Pavilion tents M'ere 
pitched, with arrangements for seating 6,000 at table, and 
every seat was tilled. The navy battalion and several 
regimental organizations (some 1,200 in all), had separate 
dining-places. For the satisfactory^ manner in which this 
important work was conducted, the chief credit belongs to 
]VIr. George H. Woods, who had the entire management of 
the collation. His report, which is full of interesting statis- 
tics, is appended. The guard lurnished by the First llegimont 
around the dining-tents did ethcient service after a tiresome 
march, and are entitled to thanks. After dinner the veterans, 
without attempting to re-form into companies, visited th6 
capitol, to inspect the statue, and to look again upon the old 
battle-flags. 

Under the direction of your commission a handsome United 
States flag of silk was furnished to each organization, to be 
borne in the parade. The organizations were permitted to 
retain these as souvenirs of the day, and for use at future re- 
unions. 

I am indebted for valuable assistance in preparing for and 
conducting the parade to the individual members of my stafl", 
wliich was composed as follows : 

GENERAL STAFF. 

Major-General Henry W. Birge, 13th C. V., Assistant (J rand 

Marshal. 
Captain Wm. Berry, I2th C. V., Department Coinmander G. A. 

R., Chief of Staff. 
Major J. Hartwell Butler, U. S. Army, Adjutant-Cieneral. 
General L. A. Dickinson, Captain 12th C. \'., Hartford. 
General (Rev.) Erastus Blakeslee, New Haven, 1st Conn. 

Cavalry. 
Dr. Archibald T. Douglas, New London, Surgeon 10th U. \'. 
Dr. William M. Mather, Suffield, Surgeon 173d N. Y. V. 
Rev. Henry Clay Trumbull, Pliiladelphia, Chaplain lOtli C. \'. 



38 

Rev. J. H. TwicHELL, Hartford, Chaplain Sickles's Brigade. 
Lieutenant John C. Abbott, U. S. Signal Corps. 
Major C. L. Bukdett, 1st C. N. G.. Engineer. 

AIDS. 

Colonel David Torrance, 29th C. V., Birmingham. 
Colonel Henry Allen, 17th C. V., New Haven. 
Colonel Fred Barton, 10th Mass., New Haven. 
Lieutenant Colonel Edwin D. Judd, U. S. Ai'my, Hartford. 
Major A. L. Goodrich, 1st Regt. C. N. G., Hartford. 
Major P. A. Spencer, 2d Col., Cavalry; Waterlmry. 
Chaplain Henry Upson, 13th C. V., New Preston. 
Captain Henry E. Taintor, 1st H. A., Hartford. 
Major Charles E. Doty, 17th C. V., South Norwalk. 
Major B. F. Blakeslee, Lieut. 16th C. V., Hartford. 
Lieutenant Thos. W. Gleason, 1st. C. N. G. (in charge of signal 
stations), Hartford. 

assistant marshals. 

Brig. Gen. John L. Otis. 10th C. V., Leeds, Mass. 

Capt. Francis M. Bunce, U. S. Navy, Hartford. 

Col. Jacob L. Greene, 6th Michigan Cavalry, Hartford. 

Col. Geo. P. Bissell, 25th C. V. Hartford. 

Col. George W. Tucker, Lieut. 23d C. V^., Waterbury. 

Lieut. Col. A. H. Embler, 82d N. Y., New Haven. 

Major Henry C. Dwight, 27th Mass., Hartford. 

Major J. G. Rathbun, Hartford City Guard Veterans. 

Major Chas. H. Owen, 1st H. A., Manchester. 

Capt. John I. Hutchinson, 7th C. V., Essex. 

Capt. Erwin D. Hall, 8th C. V., Meriden. 

Capt. Christian Quien, 11th C. V., Danbury. 

Capt. Thomas Burke, 16th C. V., Hartford. 

Capt. S. G. Blakeman, 17th C. V., Birmingham. 

Capt. Fred. H. Waldron, 1st H. A., New Haven. 

Capt. John Bishop, 2d C. V., and. 1st H. A., New London. 

George Jessup, 15th N. Y. H. A., Winsted. 

Capt. Fred. S. Seymour, 14th C. \^., New Britain. 

Capt. George M. Southmayd, 11th C. V., Middletown. 

Capt. Walter Pearce, Master U. S. N., Hartford. 



39 

Capt. James W. Lay, '.id 111. Cavalry, Branford. 
Lieut. Henry S. Brown, Gth C. V., Hartford. 
Sergt. V\^atson H. Bliss, 2oth C. V., Hartford. 
Private P. C. Lounsbury, 17th C. V., Ridgefield. 
Hon. Chas. H. Pine. Private 2d H. A., Ansonia. 
Lieut. H. P. Hitchcock, City Guard Veterans, Hartford. 

Included in this number are the committees appointed by 
the Army and Navy Club, the Grand Army, and the Hart- 
ford City Guard Veterans, to urge upon the General Assem- 
bly the authorization of the ]iarade, and whose eftbrts to this 
end were doubtless influential. These committees were as 
follows: Army and Navy Club (appointed June, ]S83), 
Col. Henry Allen, Charles H. Pine, Col. George P. Bissell, 
P. C. Lounsbury, and J. C. Kinney. Grand Army (appointed 
Jan. 31, 1884), Capt. S. B. Home, Capt. Wm. Berry, Col. 
Joseph Selden, Capt. H. E. Taintor, Ca])t. S. G. Blakeman. 
City Guard Veterans (appointed Jan. 9, 1884), Julius G. 
Pvathbun, Col. Bissell, Major B. F. Blakeslee. W. H. Ivelsey, 
H. P. Hitchcock. 

I am also indebted for hearty cooj^eration and su])])ort 
throughout to the members of your commission, especially to 
the executive committee. To yourself, the chairman, fell, 
among many other duties, the task of arranging for special 
rates on the railroads, without which the attendance would 
have been greatly lessened. 

I have the honor to lie, very respectfully, 

Your (iliedient sei-vant, 

J. C. KINNEY, 
Grand Marshal. 

THE ENTERTAINMENT COMMITTEE. 

Hartford, June 25, 1885. 
Ma.i. J. C. Kinney, Grand ]\[arshal., Bucldngham Day : 

Dear Sir,- — I liercwith submit the following re]>ort of the 
Entertainment Committee : 

The dinner Avas served under four tents of the following 
dimensions: one 400 feet X5(», two 250x50, one 170X80. 



40 

The whole length of tables was six thousand five hundred 
feet, — nearl^y a mile and one quarter. About seventeen thou- 
sand feet of lumber Avas used in constructing tables, etc. 
Fifteen thousand live liundred pieces of crockery were used 
/on the tables in serving the dinner. 

Bill of Fare. 
The provision for lunch and dinner consisted of the 
following : 

Corned Beef, '2,300 lbs.; Ham, 3,000 lbs.; Tongue, 1,150 lbs.; 
making a total of six thousand four hundred and 'fifty pounds of 
meat bought and contributed. Sandwiches, 14,000; Doughnuts, 
14,000; Biscuit. 18,000; Eggs boiled, 6,144; Bread, 300 lbs.; Gher- 
kins, 2 barrels; Cheese, 300 lbs.; Oranges, 6,000; Bananas, 6,000; 
Peanuts, 60 bushels; Coffee, 630 lbs.'; Milk, 800 quarts; Sugar, 
328 lbs.; Cigars, 6,000. 

Three tanks, with a capacity of five hundred gallons each, 
were made expressly for cooking the coffee ; over two thou- 
sand gallons were served during the day. 

What meats were not nsed at the dinner were distributed 
among the poor the following day ; there were about five 
hundred pounds so disposed of. 

As soon as the veterans began to arrive in the morning 
the lunch-tent was opened to those who had procured their 
dinner-tickets, which had a lunch coupon attached. The 
ticket and coupon system worked admirably, as it secured to 
those who were entitled to hinch and dinner an opportunity 
to get them, -and protected the committee against feeding the 
general public. The coupons taken up showed that nearly 
four thousand received lunch before the line was formed. 
Many thankful expressions were heard from the veterans, 
which proved this to be a popular feature of the celebration, 
as the men who came from a distance were not obliged to 
parade with empty stomachs. 

While plates were laid for six thousand, dinner was served 
to at least five hundred more than this number. This is 
aside from the organizations which had separate dining 
arrangements. It was*rmpossible for the committee to ascer- 



41 

tain in advance the exact number to provide for, so they took 
the estimate of six thousand. It will be seen by the bill of 
fare, as given in this report, that none needed to go away 
hungry. 

A feature of the entertainment should not be overlooked, 
viz., the placing about the Park of fifty barrels, which were 
kept filled with ice-water during the day. The soldiers and 
citizens have the president of the Spring-Brook Ice Company 
to thank for the liberal contribution of ice, and keeping the 
barrels replenished. 

The Entertainment Committee consisted of about fifty 
members. In conjunction with them were over three hun- 
dred volunteer aids, who assisted in serving the dinners. One 
large delegation of volunteers were young men from the 
High School. Delegations were furnished from nearly all 
the large manufacturing establishments in the city. The 
success of the dinner is due to the hearty co-operation of the 
entire committee, who put forth every effort to carry out the 
plans as laid out. 

Not only the committee, but the citizens generally, lent 
every aid to make the soldiers feel that they were more than 
welcome to the city and its hospitality. They were not 
unmindful that the veterans and citizens from all parts of the 
State were here to do honor to the memory of one of whom 
" ISTature might stand up and say to all the world, ' This was 
a man.' " Very truly yours, 

GEO. H. WOODS, 

Chairman Enteriainment Committee. 

THE SECRETARY'S REPORT. 

To the Honorable Commission appointed by the General 
Assembly of Connecticut at its January Session, 188-i, to 
whom were entrusted the duties and ceremonies relating to 
the inauguration of the statue of the late Governor Bucking- 
ham, at the Capitol of the State. 
I have the honor, as your duly appointed Secretary, to 

report — 



42 

That the Honorable Commission held many meetings in 
discharge of its duties. It was determined that the statue of 
Governor Buckingham should be placed in the west vestibule 
of the Capitol, in a position facing the entrance, and the 
Committee on the Capitol grounds were requested to remove 
the "figure of the Genius of Connecticut, then occupying the 
place selected, to some suitable locality in the Capitol. It 
was determined that the ceremonies connected with the 
unveiling of the statue should take place on the 18th day of 
June last. 

Major John C. Kinney of Hartford was appointed Grand 
Marshal of the day, witli authority to designate his staff, and 
to take tlie entire charge of military ceremonies of the day. 

Hon. Henry B. Harrison of New Haven was requested to 
present to the State tlie statue, and his Excellency Thomas 
M. Waller, Governor of the State, was requested to accept 
the same for and in behalf of the State. 

The Hon. Orville H. Piatt, United States Senator of this 
State, was requested to deliver an oration on the occasion. 

The Rev. Daniel Merriman, D.D., former pastor of the 
Church in Norwich of which Governor Buckingham was a 
member, was invited to make the opening prayer, and Bishop 
Williams of the Diocese of Connecticut to pronounce the 
benediction, at the unveiling ceremonies. Owing to illness 
Bishop Williams was unable to attend, and the Rev. Dr. 
George W. Smith, President of Trinity College, officiated in 
his stead. 

Upon a Resolution of the General Assembly, Gen. Thomas 
McManus, Qnartermaster-General, furnished the requisite 
tents for the headquarters of the veteran and other military 
organizations taking part in the ceremonies of the day. 

Suitable badges commemorative of the occasion were pro- 
cured by Gen. Wm. H. Noble, 

An invitation was extended to the veterans of this State 
who had served in the late Rebellion, and to the veterans of 
other States now residing here, to take part in the ceremo- 
nies. The Governor''s Foot Guard and the First Regiment 



43 

of this State having offered tlieir services, they were invited ■ 
to act as a militar}- escort. 

The distinguished Seventh Regiment of New York and 
their Veteran Organization were invited to be present, and all 
military organizations present were to be assigned positions 
in line by the Grand Marshal. 

Suitable memorial flags were procured by order of your 
commission, to mark the regimental headquarters of the 
several organizations engaged in the late war. 

Your Honorable Chairman and Gen. Wm, A. Aiken were 
requested to extend invitations to the relatives of Gov. Buck- 
ingham to be present at the ceremonies. 

Invitations were also extended to the President of the 
United States, the Chief-Justice of the United States, the 
Secretary of War, the Judges of the Supreme and Superior 
Courts of this State, the Senators and members of Congress 
from this State, Brig.-Gen. Smith and Staff, and the honora- 
ble members of the General Assembly to be present. 

At the final session of your Honorable Commission at 
Hartford, on the 10th day of February, 1885, the audited 
accounts of the expenses incurred and paid were presented 
and the same approved by the Commission. 

It was also unanimously resolved, that the thanks of this 
Connnission and of this State were eminently due to the 
Honorable John Allen, Chairman of the Commission, and Sena- 
tor from the Twenty-first District of Connecticut, for the very 
able, careful, and efficient manner in which he had taken 
executive charge of the most important duties of the Com- 
mission, and for the dignity with which he presided over the 
ceremonies of the day, and he was requested in behalf of tlie 
Commission to present a report of its proceedings to the 
Honorable General Assembly at its present session. 

It was likewise resolved, that the valuable, most assiduous and 
appropriate services of the Honorable Secretary of this Com- 
mission are entitled to our heartiest recognition and thanks, 

E. BUREOWS BROWN, 

Secretary of the Commission. 



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